Inheritance
by The Other Sara
Summary: When tragedy strikes, a girl must give up her life as a trainer and become an Aura Guardian in her father's place to stop a cult bent on terrorizing the world. Rated T for safety.


Inheritance

A Pokemon Story

* * *

><p>Chapter 1<p>

* * *

><p>Ecruteak City... the name alone held so many memories. For Joelle, this was and will always be home to her. Upon arriving at the entrance to the city, she inhaled through her nose and exhaled out through her mouth. It had been a while since she saw her hometown and the people who live there; About three months to be exact. She started her Pokemon journey back then and has since gained two badges: one from Violet City and the other from Azalea Town. Joelle felt proud of herself. She was only two steps closer from challenging the the Johto Elite Four. However, she made a promise to her father that she would come home sometimes and visit her friends and family. This was one of those times. It was her fifteenth birthday and her father, Theodore, wanted to celebrate it with her. As Joelle walked through the city, she pulled her Pokegear out of her pocket to check the time. It was two thirty four in the afternoon. She was late for visiting her father in front of the Burned Tower. She was supposed to have met him at about noon. Joelle shrugged. Oh well, she thought, and continued on her way.<p>

Nothing much had changed from when she was last in Ecruteak City. The buildings, the colors, the smells; everything was the same. How boring. That was one of the reasons she decided to become a Pokemon trainer; change. She got sick of seeing the same old things and wanted to explore around the world and become a Pokemon champion for the Johto region. After passing through the many crowds (the streets were busy during the summer), Joelle managed to reach the Burned Tower which, as usual, had tourists from different cities and regions flooding into the site. Joelle stopped walking for a moment and looked around, hoping to find her father in the sea of humans. It took a couple of minutes, but she had finally found him leaning against the tall wooden fence.

"Hey!" Joelle shouted with a smile. "Over here!"

Theodore, a tall man with strong features, turned his head in Joelle's direction and lifted his sunglasses off of his nose to get a better look. Smiling, he walked over to his daughter and the two embraced each other.

"Look at you, it's been a while!" he said, kissing the top of Joelle's head. "How's my baby girl?"

"I'm fine, thanks." said Joelle letting go of her dad.

"You're late again, you know," said Joelle's father. "You really need to be more responsible when it comes to time."

"I know... sorry." muttered Joelle.

"But, I'll cut ya some slack. After all, it's your birthday today! C'mon, let's go home. Your neighbors are anxious to see you."

The two then started walking away from the Burned Tower. Along the way to their house, they talked about Joelle's current progress on her journey, how her Pokemon were doing and so on. They stopped by an ice cream shop and got a cone for the two of them. Joelle had a triple scoop of cookie dough, mint chocolate chip and cookies and cream, while her father just had one scoop of chocolate ice cream. They ate their delicious ice cream, talked and laughed until they arrived at their house not too far from downtown. By then, the two had finished their ice cream. Before walking inside though, Joelle was stopped by Theodore.

"Hold on a sec," he said. "Let me go check something first."

As he jogged inside the house, Joelle placed her hands on her hips.

"What does he need to check that he won't let me inside our own house?" she asked herself with tad bit of annoyance in her voice.

Luckily, it didn't take long for her father to "check" on whatever it was he was checking on. He opened the door and motioned Joelle inside.

"Come here, I've got a surprise for you." he said.

Joelle, curious as to what her father wanted her to see, walked over to him and into the house. Strangely enough, it was pitch black, the thick curtains covering the windows and blocking out the sunlight. It made Joelle a little edgy. It wasn't because she was afraid of the dark. It was because she like something was going to jump out at her. It was rather quiet too; not a single noise could be heard. But something broke that silence. The sound of footsteps and a light switch being flipped. Suddenly, the lights came on and illuminated the room, revealing a group of people smiling and standing underneath a long paper sign that in big, bold, red letters said "Welcome home, Joelle!".

"Happy birthday, Joelle!" they cheered.

Joelle jumped a bit, startled by their sudden appearance. Her father laughed at her reaction and placed a hand on her black and silver hat covering her short blonde hair.

"Fifteen at last, kiddo!" he said.

Joelle's expression changed to a smile.

"Yeah... thanks dad."

"Don't thank him!" teased one of the neighbors. "It was Francis's idea that we'd throw a party for you."

"Shut up, Michael!" snapped Theodore. "It was _my_ idea, for your information."

He then sighed and looked to Joelle.

"So, how about we get this party started, huh?"

"Yeah!" replied Joelle with excitement.

* * *

><p>From a distance, a hooded figure stood watching the party unfold under the cover of night. There was music, dancing, food and all sorts of festivities going on in the Sanders family's backyard. Everyone and their Pokemon appeared to be having fun, completely oblivious to their presence. The figure was getting tired of waiting, but he had no choice but to follow orders. As he continued to watch from the rooftops of one of the houses through a pair of binoculars, another figure in the same attire as his appeared.<p>

"What do you have to report?" asked the hooded figure that arrived.

"It seems that he suspects nothing so far." said the first figure.

"Ah, good," replied the second figure. "But that won't last very long... these cloaking devices can only block the sensing abilities of aura users for a short time. Once they run out of power, that will be when we strike."

"Thank Arceus. I was getting tired of waiting."

"Be patient. We'll get what we want soon."

* * *

><p>"Joelle! Joelle!" said a young boy, eagerly tugging on Joelle's white and black sleeveless shirt. "Will you have a Pokemon battle with me?"<p>

"Yeah! Please, Joelle?" asked a little girl.

"Sure I will!" said a cheerful Joelle, putting her soda down on the table. "But I'll warn you now, my Pokemon have beaten the first two gym leaders. I won't go easy on ya!"

Laughing, the young boy ran across the yard to a spot with more room to fight. He waved over to her when he got there. Waving back, Joelle stood up and started to follow him, but something stopped her; a strong shiver down her spine and a temporary loss of breath. Instinctively, she looked up at the roof of the house next door, but saw nothing there. Joelle blinked. She felt something there, but what was it? Was her mind playing tricks on her again? Whatever it was, it certainly caught her attention. The little girl tugged on her shirt, prompting Joelle to look down.

"What's wrong Joelle?"

"Oh, uh, it's nothing!" said Joelle. "Just a dizzy spell; I stood up too fast. Um, let's go!"

* * *

><p>"...And so then I said-" continued Theodore with his story.<p>

Before he could continue, something distracted him. The feeling of his spine shaking and the short loss of breath; he sensed something. Theodore looked up at the roof next door, but didn't see anything. He furrowed his brow... what or who could possibly prompt his senses to get his attention? He thought for a moment, ignoring his friends' concerns. And that was when he came to a realization. It was them; it _had_ to be them; the time had finally come. Theodore immediately stood up from his seat, glaring and looking around. Where were they? He had to collect his Pokemon now.

"Whoa, Theo," asked one of his friends. "You okay? You seem jumpy."

"Sorry, there's something I need to take care of." said Theodore firmly.

Theodore started walking away from his seat and his Pokemon, a Gallade, approached him.

"Gallade," said Theodore "Where are the others?"

"Gallade, Gallade." replied the Pokemon, holding out three Pokeballs.

"Good," muttered Theodore softly, before grabbing the three Pokeballs. "Let's go."

Before they could proceed to the front of the house, the lights that were hanging on strings across the backyard were suddenly struck by lightning bolts, bursting into a million pieces and frightening the party attenders. The backyard became covered in darkness. The sounds of of people screaming and muttering in shock were heard. They were here. Theodore, feeling a sense of fight or flight, immediately started shouting.

"Everyone! It's not safe! Return to your homes and get to safety!"

"What is he talking about?" asked one neighbor.

"Has he gone crazy?" asked another.

"It's important that you-"

Upon the sight of flares being lit and thrown into the backyard as well as Pokemon such as Pikachus, Claydols and Nidokings appearing out of their Pokeballs, people began to panic.


End file.
